Mark Isherwood: What, if any, action have you therefore since taken to investigate the serious omissions I identified and gather the necessary missing evidence?
Mark Isherwood: Diolch, Llywydd. Responding to your statement here in May on justice in Wales, I stated, 'given that senior police officers told me during my visit to the north-west regional organised crime unit that: all north Wales emergency planning is done with north-west England; 95 per cent or more of crime in north Wales is local or operates on a cross-border east-west basis; North Wales Police have...
Mark Isherwood: Three hundred and thirty-three years after the formation of the first regiments that would later become the Royal Welsh, we commend both this motion and the content of the proposed amendment. In 2022, the Royal British Legion is, in fact, remembering and commemorating military and civilian service. As they state, 'the act of defending and protecting the nation's democratic freedoms and way of...
Mark Isherwood: I just have two questions, as chair of the cross-party group on fuel poverty and energy efficiency, which have come from the group. We heard reference earlier to the Equality and Social Justice Committee inquiry into fuel poverty and the Warm Homes programme, and recommendations for the Welsh Government to ensure that the programme embeds the fabric and worst-first approach to retrofitting,...
Mark Isherwood: How is the Welsh Government ensuring accessibility of financial services in Wales?
Mark Isherwood: Will you give way?
Mark Isherwood: Just to clarify, you said, I think, that I had said that there was a special category for strokes in England and there was a 47-minute—. No, what I said was that they've recategorised strokes as an emergency in category 2, and category 2 collectively had a 47 minute and 59 second response time.
Mark Isherwood: The latest SSNAP data also shows that it takes on average six hours and 35 minutes between stroke onset and arrival at hospital in Wales, compared to three hours and 41 minutes in England and two hours and 41 minutes in Northern Ireland. This impacts on the time it takes for patients to receive a scan, with patients in Wales being scanned just over eight hours after their symptom onset,...
Mark Isherwood: Diolch, Llywydd. Our motion today proposes that this Senedd notes that World Stroke Day is 29 October 2022, recognises the urgent response required to prevent danger to life for people suffering a stroke, and instructs the Senedd's Health and Social Care Committee to conduct a review into the benefits and challenges of recategorising strokes as red calls, immediately life-threatening, under...
Mark Isherwood: In January 2019, the Bevan Foundation launched its project on the Welsh benefits system, aiming to develop a coherent and streamlined framework of help in Wales. As they said: 'The Welsh Government and Welsh local authorities provide a number of different schemes which...range from the provision of free school meals to discretionary housing payments.' They added: 'At present, each of these...
Mark Isherwood: Thank you for your statement and for our short meeting earlier, which was very helpful. Responding to your update on Ukraine statement here four weeks ago, I referred to your constructive relationship, which you've referred to again, with the former UK Government Minister for refugees, Lord Harrington, and asked how, based upon practical inter-governmental working relationships in Wales, you...
Mark Isherwood: Diolch. I have to be brief, as time is short, but thanks very much to all contributors. Mike Hedges, as you said, this investigation was timely. Although it primarily involves older people, it is not exclusively about older people; everything should be equitable, and we need to move from doing things to or for people to doing things with them. Natasha emphasised the need for financial...
Mark Isherwood: One of the committee's key conclusions was that more should be done to ensure parity of terms and conditions and pay with NHS staff, with the intention of retaining staff and being competitive with other industries or sectors, such as the hospitality industry. The committee welcomes the Welsh Government's acceptance of this recommendation and introduction of the real living wage for social...
Mark Isherwood: The committee heard from a range of stakeholders about the accessibility and quality of care home provision, including oral evidence received from the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, Age Cymru, Care Forum Wales, the Welsh Local Government Association, the Association of Directors of Social Services, and the Welsh Government itself. The committee also received written submissions from...
Mark Isherwood: Diolch and thank you for the opportunity to discuss the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee's report on care home commissioning. Members may be aware of the committee’s report on this matter, which made several key recommendations in what is a complex area, with the aim of making the system more equitable for all. This inquiry reflected on the Auditor General for Wales’s...
Mark Isherwood: Thanks for your response. Up-to-date Stats Wales figures show that 7,492 new social homes were delivered in Wales during the first 12 years of devolved Labour Government, 11 of which coincided with a UK Labour Government—a 73.45 per cent fall on the 28,215 new social homes delivered in Wales during the 12 years of a UK Conservative Government up to 1997. The 2012 UK housing review stated...
Mark Isherwood: 7. How does the Welsh Government ensure a sustainable supply of housing? OQ58556
Mark Isherwood: Today is UK Anti-slavery Day, falling within Anti-slavery Week, and I call for a Welsh Government statement on this important issue. Anti-slavery Day provides an opportunity to raise awareness of human trafficking and modern slavery, and to encourage governments, local authorities, companies, charities and individuals to do what they can to address the problem. I thank the 17 Members here who...
Mark Isherwood: Key to the delivery of the Equality Act 2010 is the availability of Changing Places fully accessible toilets, designed so that everyone, regardless of their access needs or disability or reliance on the assistance of carers or specialist equipment, can use a toilet facility with dignity and hygienically. TCC, Trefnu Cymunedol Cymru—Together Creating Communities, a group of dedicated...
Mark Isherwood: 3. How does the Welsh Government ensure that local authorities fulfill their duties under the Equality Act 2010? OQ58518
